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Category: Criminal Law

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Experience: 30 years legal experience

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i have a first court appearance few weeks from now for civil

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i have a first court appearance few weeks from now for civil case. i had a hit and run case in which i pleaded guilty on criminal court. but i was improperly served with subpoena because i didnt received it so instead the lawyer of the plaintiff sent me letter. do i have to explain to the judge why i didn't show up the first time? do i have to show proofs of my whereabouts. because i moved out to another location and was on vacation too when they probably served the subpoena. is it ok to appear the court without my lawyer? my insurance will provide me lawyer but have not contacted me yet. thank you!

I'm Doug, and I'm very sorry to hear of your situation. My goal is to provide you with excellent service today. In order to give you a clear and concise answer, I will need some additional information about the circumstances, please.

1. I am confused. Are you talking about two separate cases---one a criminal case (you pleaded guilty) and another a civil case for damages sued on by the owner of the other car/property?

2. You wrote: i was improperly served with subpoena because i didnt received it so instead the lawyer of the plaintiff sent me letter. I'm not sure what you mean. What subpoena are you referring to? Do you mean the summons and complaint?

hi doug, the criminal case was done already. i was pleaded guilty. so the plaintiff got her money for expenses she had for hospitalization. now, she is sueing me in civil court for physical and emotional stress she had. of course this is for more money. im sorry, its summons and complaint.

sorry, i didnt have the summon letter with me. im at work right now. it's something about -show case and cmt (conference meeting). i will write u about that later when i get home.

This is really simple. Call your insurance company right now. Tell them that you have been sued and that there is a hearing scheduled. They will immediately get a defense attorney for you who will do everything for you---you don't have to do a thing.

It is up to your insurance to get you the attorney immediately. You should be calling them daily until you hear from your attorney.

Literally, that is all you need to do. If you have the summons and complaint---get it to the insurance company---fax it, or mail it and keep a copy for yourself.

Don’t go to the hearing by yourself---they WILL get you an attorney for that. That is their contractual obligation under your policy contract.

You may reply back to me again, using the Reply to Expert link, if you have additional questions.

one more question. is it ok to call the insurance everyday? is it not annoying that i will do it everyday? anyway, thank you for your service. i really appreciated it. you will receive a godd rating from me :)

The entire idea is to annoy them until they get you an attorney. Impress on the adjuster that you have a court hearing and they need to be prepared for that---meaning you want to hear from your attorney.

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